Paddington Station
Ashland, Oregon
Today we’re featuring an ad for Paddington Station published in the local newspaper way back in 1995 (which may not seem like a throwback, but can you believe that was 28 years ago?!)
Ophelia: Could my lord have better commerce than with these honest merchants?
Hamlet: Alas, virtue cannot inoculate this old stock. I love it not.
Ophelia: I too wish there had been more received.
Hamlet: Get thee to an eclectic emporium.
Who has read the delightful story of Paddington Bear?
Paddington Bear first appeared on October 13th, 1958 in the timeless children’s classic, A Bear Called Paddington. Since then, he has been featured in more than twenty books, numerous television shows and two recent movies. The author, Michael Bond, based Paddington Bear on a lone teddy bear that he noticed on a shelf in a London shop near Paddington Station on Christmas Eve, which he bought as a present for his wife. He is one of the most popular British fictional characters and in 1994, a Paddington Bear soft toy was chosen by British tunnelers as the first item to pass through to their French counterparts when the two sides of the Channel Tunnel were linked.
In the original story, the Brown family finds Paddington Bear at Paddington Railway Station in London. Paddington is sitting on his suitcase with a note attached to his coat that reads, “Please look after this bear. Thank you.” Paddington arrives as a stowaway coming from Peru and claims, “I came in a lifeboat, and ate marmalade. Bears like marmalade.” He tells them that no one can understand his Peruvian name, so the Browns decide to call him Paddington after the railway station in which he was found. He is always polite and kind-hearted but has an endless capacity for innocently getting into trouble. He frequents the nearby Portobello Road market, where he is respected by the shopkeepers for driving a hard bargain!
How many people remember that the basement of Paddington used to be a restaurant named The Gourmet Underground Delicatessen??
Opened in 1977, the name of the restaurant was a play on words referencing the original Paddington Station in London. The Underground, or the “Tube” as it’s known casually, is a subway system that services the London metropolitan area. Operation on this first electric underground railway began in 1890, with a uniform fare of twopence (do you know how much that is in US currency). A map of this railway can be found on the menu of Gourmet Underground Delicatessen, along with some pretty nostalgic prices for food and drink!
One of the specialty items served by the restaurant was called “Warfres,” with flavor choices including banana, pecan, and bacon. The menu described this item with the following story:
The first waffle is said to have been made in 13th century England. A crusader wearing his armor accidently sat in some freshly baked oat cakes. The cakes were flattened and bore deep imprints of the steel links. However, he spread butter on the cakes and ate them. His wife, delighted in the way the butter stayed in the imprints from the armor, made him put it on once a week and sit on fresh oak cakes. They were called “warfres” meaning flat honeycomb-like cakes.”
We’re turning the big 5-0 this year! To celebrate, we are digging into our archives to showcase the evolution of our beautiful historic building, share stories of our past and honor those who have helped us become the business we are today.
Taken in 1898, this picture shows off the interior of what is now Paddington Station! Did you know that our building used to be home to J.P Dodge and Son’s Furniture?
John Page Dodge arrived in Ashland in 1883 and operated a successful furniture company in partnership with two sons, Louis and Will. Active in civil affairs, he served on the City Council in 1892-93 and was elected Mayor in 1896.
Construction of J. P. Dodge’s new building on East Main began in 1904, the first of a group of three new business blocks built adjoining the Opera House (now home to Three Penny Mercantile, More Fun Comics, Sew Creative and other businesses). Construction of the building was largely completed by August at a cost of $5,500. In 1947, as an element of the modernization of this area, the Dodge building was stucco-clad, obscuring some of the original detailing. Today, the first floor storefront substantially reflects the 1947 remodeled appearance, although some of the elements of the original 1904 design remains.
50 years ago, Judy Patterson had a dream. Little did she know that her small store at 268 E Main Street would evolve into the Paddington Family of Stores we know today.
In many ways, Judy reminds me of Pam Hammond. Judy once told me that, when she found out that the Herndobler Furniture Company building was up for sale, she “took life by the horns” and realized what she wanted. In a leap of faith, she jumped at the opportunity, bought this big building, and made it her own.
Every big choice Pam and her business partners have made were similar to that leap of faith Judy took. When the Hammonds purchased the business 20 years ago, they took this big, historic building and made it their own – looking to the future while maintaining the rich history it held. 10 years later, Pam took a new leap of faith and opened The Paddington Jewel Box and, a few years later, followed Inspired By Oregon, thus creating the Paddington Family of Stores.
Our history is rich and deep. We move forward through time, while keeping pieces of our past alive. This blog serves as a way to collect the pieces of that history- who we are, who we were, where we came from, where we have been and where we are going.
